I have a strong feeling that they won't come out and publicly denounce videos and songs that portray an image that gun wielding is acceptable.





I'm not sayin'....but I'm just sayin'

4/17/2007 10:27:09 AM

THAT'S RACIST!

4/17/2007 10:30:46 AM

they're too busy apologizing to the Duke kids

4/17/2007 10:33:33 AM

i think bill cosby is the only famous black to call out the destructive culture.

4/17/2007 10:34:18 AM

and he got reamed by the media for it

4/17/2007 10:34:39 AM

It's a double standard in society that for one reason or another goes unspoken.

If they (Sharpton and Jackson, not, you people) have the clout to fire Imus over what was said, then hopefully they care enough to take the same action against hip hop videos. No, this isnt the only market that negatively impacts youth. Others such as video games, TV shows, and movies also play a prominent role, but music continues to be a manipulative industry that has stood the test of time and continues to shape the ideas of impressionable adolescents and young adults alike.

I hope they can put the PR powers to work on this as well...but unfortunately, I dont see that happening.

4/17/2007 10:40:44 AM

Isn't this a problem that will solve itself eventually?

4/17/2007 10:53:52 AM

I think the media machine was gearing up for a push against rap, to help fill thier void. Now with the VT thing, it wont get looked at again. Americans attentions have turned elsewhere.

4/17/2007 11:11:05 AM

4/17/2007 11:21:35 AM

^/thread

4/17/2007 12:32:58 PM

^^Lame.

1. The situations aren't comparable.
2. I don't remember Jesse Jackson rushing to judgment any more than everybody else in the media. In fact, I remember him saying that he would pay the accuser's tuition regardless of the outcome of the case, implying that he was not rushing to judgement. When it first came out that he was paying the tuition, my father and I agreed that it was the right thing to do. He kinda separated a single issue out from all the mess and made the statement that young women should not be stripping their way through college.
3. And even if the situations were exactly the same and Jackson was in the same boat with those three other guys...he still doesn't have to apologize, just like those three other guys didn't have to apologize. Gibson, Richards, and Imus did not have to apologize, but they wanted a chance to explain themselves and save some face. That doesn't mean everybody has to do it. (Personally, I think the apology thing is stupid. Nobody really cares if they apologize or not. It doesn't make their words any less offensive or make them any more relatable/sympathetic.)

Original topic:

I'm pretty positive that Jesse Jackson has criticized rap music publically before. I'm having difficulty finding stuff that isn't directly related to the Imus issue because all that stuff is coming up first.




And it's all capitalism anyway. Folks come out and criticize this music, but this is what we get when the free market does its thing. The public had a choice of what they wanted to listen to, and with their money, they chose guns, hos, cash, drugs, etc...and conscious rap got tucked away. It's still available, but it doesn't sell nearly as well as this garbage. That said, hip hop sales are on the decline. Again, free market. The public is saying, "Okay, that'll do."

And I think it's foolish for anyone to suggest that this music is not detrimental. You can talk about how video games don't affect us. But music...we know it affects us--that's why we listen to it, that's why we love it and have loved it since forver. Add in the imagery and the hype, and you've got one powerful Pied Piper. And the rest of us are inundated with false portrayals of black youth/culture.

But everybody has an excuse...money, money, money! We are driven by the dollar, and as a result, it's difficult to fault the industry for cashing in on this music. Ultimately, the ones to blame are the ones who buy it.

4/17/2007 2:05:18 PM

Quote :

"In fact, I remember him saying that he would pay the accuser's tuition regardless of the outcome of the case, implying that he was not rushing to judgement. "

not rushing to judgement would be waiting for facts and evidence to come out before offering to pay the tuition of a manipulative prostitute

4/17/2007 2:10:14 PM

^No, no, no.

The tuition money was not contingent on anything. He saw a need and a chance to fill it publically, to send a message. And that's what he did. It was separate from all the hoopla--a chance to make a point and put a little positivity into the whole ordeal.

You cannot fault him for that.

4/17/2007 2:15:24 PM

^ sure you can....

when he offered to pay that tuition it was 1) to make him look good and put money into his pocket, 2) make this po' black girl look like more of a victim who had to strip to pay for her schooling

very little of that had to do with actually helping the girl

4/17/2007 2:18:58 PM

Quote :

"And even if the situations were exactly the same and Jackson was in the same boat with those three other guys...he still doesn't have to apologize"

no, he doesn't, but if wants to make race such a big issue in situations such as this, he better be prepared for the shitstorm of race based criticism that comes his way when he's wrong, it's only fair.

4/17/2007 2:23:21 PM

Quote :

"I'm pretty positive that Jesse Jackson has criticized rap music publically before. I'm having difficulty finding stuff that isn't directly related to the Imus issue because all that stuff is coming up first."

He has. Al Sharpton has.

Lots of people have but far too many people think the fight over hip-hop's content began with Don Imus.

4/17/2007 2:25:49 PM

I dont remember the last time rev al or jesse lead a protest outside a deathrow records, or any other record company.

4/17/2007 2:30:41 PM

no group of people is perfect obviously

but rather than try to address some of the problems within the black community, the reverends often seem to just want to place the blame on someone outside of the black community...that has seemed to be a common theme amongst those two in recent years

yet if you point that out, you'll be called a racist

4/17/2007 2:41:22 PM

Quote :

"trikk311: ^ sure you can.... when he offered to pay that tuition it was 1) to make him look good and put money into his pocket, 2) make this po' black girl look like more of a victim who had to strip to pay for her schooling very little of that had to do with actually helping the girl"

I agree that very little of it had to do with helping the woman. It was an opportunity to make a point separate from everything else that was going on though, and I believe that was his motivation.

If you dislike Jesse Jackson, you're going to attribute his actions to other things. And that's understandable. The point I was trying to make was that when his organization payed the tuition, he made a point of saying that the gift was not contingent on the outcome of the case...leading me to believe he had not rushed to judgment.

Quote :

"No one has been charged in the case, but the allegations have rocked the community. Jackson he has yet to speak with the woman, but said his group pledged to pay for her tuition even if her story proves false."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,191902,00.html

OMG, WHAT A RUSH TO JUDGMENT!!!

[Edited on April 17, 2007 at 2:50 PM. Reason : .s.s]

4/17/2007 2:49:04 PM

you bolded the wrong part

Quote :

"but the allegations have rocked the community"

thanks mr nifong

you too, reverends

4/17/2007 2:51:37 PM

Quote :

"i think bill cosby is the only famous black to call out the destructive culture."

Juan Williams, a black senior correspondent for NPR and journalist, writer, etc., followed up on Cosby's remarks last fall in a Washington Post article, Banish the Bling. He was not nearly as fiery as Cosby was, and of course he is not as well known (you could even be familiar with them through the radio and his writing and never even know he's black), so he didn't really draw much of a big reaction.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/20/AR2006082000527.html

Quote :

"Incredibly, Cosby's critics don't see the desperate need to pull a generational fire alarm to warn people about a culture of failure that is sabotaging any chance for black people in poverty to move up and help their children reach the security of economic and educational achievement. Not one mainstream civil rights group picked up on his call for marches and protests against bad parenting, drug dealers, hate-filled rap music and failing schools. .... The defining challenge for this generation of Americans dealing with poverty is putting the next generation in a position to move even higher. Individuals must now use the opportunities made available to them by the sacrifices of past generations if they are to achieve victory in America's long and still unfinished civil rights movement. "

4/17/2007 3:05:46 PM